Collins was bornChristopher Lawrence Latta in Orange, New Jersey and raised in Manhattan, New York. He changed his legal name to Christopher Collins after being adopted by his stepfather, although he would continue using Chris Latta as a stage name for some of his roles. He began studying acting, dance, voice and mime after spending a year at New York University, after which he performed in New York and Boston theaters.

Collins was among the uncredited voice actors who worked on Star Blazers along with Kenneth Messeroll and Rene Auberjonois. Most notably, he provided the voices of Sgt. Knox and Captain Gideon during the show's Comet Empire series.

Collins was the original voice for C. Montgomery Burns and Moe the Bartender on the long-running Fox animated series The Simpsons. He voiced the characters for the first few episodes but was forced to give it up and he was replaced by Harry Shearer as Mr. Burns and Hank Azaria took over the voice of Moe.

Collins died in Ventura, California in 1994 at the age of 44. His official cause of death is listed as a cerebral hemorrhage, although comments made by some of his friends and co-workers suggest Collins had personal issues which may have played a part in his untimely death. [3][4]